COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 903 new Covid-19 cases
September 28 2020 - 22:54
Massive jump in Free State Covid-19 deaths due to 'two-week delay'
The number of Covid-19 related deaths in the Free State climbed rapidly on Monday night, with 178 new fatalities reported.
This massive jump was due to a "two-week delay" in reporting the deaths, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said.
The deaths in the Free State means that 188 Covid-19 related deaths were confirmed since the statistics were last released on Sunday night. Only 10 of them - three in the Eastern Cape, one in KwaZulu-Natal, two in Gauteng, and four from Western Cape - were not in the Free State.
September 28 2020 - 17:44
Minister Ronald Lamola donates 4,000 face masks to two schools
Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola says the government will not be able to adequately address societal challenges such as gender-based violence and femicide, poverty, crime and unemployment on its own.
Speaking during a visit to the Chris Hani District in the Eastern Cape on Monday, Lamola said the government would work with all stakeholders in the area to improve and deepen service delivery.
September 28 2020 - 14:41
Children have 44% lower odds of catching Covid-19 than adults, UK analysis
Children have 44% lower odds of catching Covid-19 than adults, according to an analysis led by the president of Britain's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
"In this systematic review and meta-analysis including 32 studies, children and adolescents younger than 20 years had 44%lower odds of secondary infection with SARS-CoV-2 compared with adults 20 years and older," the analysis said.
"There is preliminary evidence that those younger than 10 to 14 years have lower susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection than adults, with adolescents appearing to have similar susceptibility to adults."
The analysis was led by Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
—Reuters
September 28 2020 - 13:00
Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 32.98 million, death toll at 994,217
More than 32.98 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 994,217 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
—Reuters
September 28 2020 - 10:54
Piles of dirty hospital linen, clothes found dumped in Eastern Cape
Piles of dirty hospital linen and clothing have been found dumped near an informal settlement in Komani (formerly Queenstown) by residents who suspect it may have been used by patients with Covid-19.
The residents claim that after the find at the weekend, they alerted health officials, saying it was a health hazard.
On investigation, it turned out that the linen was from the Komani Psychiatric Hospital and was found dumped in the open, not far from an informal settlement.
September 28 2020 - 08:06
Beijing asks frozen food importers to shun countries with severe coronavirus
China's capital called on importers on Monday to shun frozen food from countries suffering from severe novel coronavirus outbreaks after several cases of imported seafood products testing positive for the virus.
"Customs and local governments have repeatedly detected the coronavirus in imported cold chain food, proving it risks contamination," the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau said in a statement issued to import companies.
The bureau urged them to closely monitor the overseas pandemic situation and "proactively avoid importing cold chain food from areas heavily hit by the coronavirus" and make alternative plans for imports.
—Reuters
September 28 2020 - 08:00
India's coronavirus infections cross 6 million
India's coronavirus case tally topped 6 million after it reported 82,170 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed on Monday.
Deaths from Covid-19 rose by 1,039 in the last 24 hours to 95,542, the ministry said, which is 1.6% of total cases.
Globally, India has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases, behind the United States where infections crossed 7 million last week.
—Reuters